1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of household appliances for laundry and garments treatment. In particular, embodiments of the present invention relates to appliances for drying laundry, such as laundry dryers and combined washers/dryers.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Appliances for drying laundry, are adapted to dry clothes, garments, laundry in general, by circulating hot, dry air within a tumbler or drum. The drum is rotatably accommodated within a machine cabinet, and is designed to contain the articles to be dried. The rotation of the drum causes agitation of the articles to be dried, while they are hit by the drying air flow.
Combined laundry washer/dryer appliances combine the features of a washing machine with those of a dryer; in these appliances, the drum is rotatably accommodated within a washing tub.
In a known type of laundry dryers and washers/dryers, also referred to as “condenser dryer”, the drying air flow is typically caused to pass through the drum, exiting therefrom from the front access opening, then it passes through a moisture condensing system, where the humid air is at least partially dehydrated, dried, and the dried air flow is heated up by means of a heating arrangement, like an electrical resistance; the heated drying air flow then passes again through the drum, and repeats the cycle.
The condensing system may be an air-air heat exchanger, exploiting air taken in from the outside. Examples of laundry dryers exploiting this type of condensing system are provided in EP 254018, EP 1584734, EP 2039819, GB 2075559.
Other known dryers and washers/dryers exploit a heat pump to dehydrate the drying air flow; in these dryers, the function of the heating arrangement may be performed by the heat pump itself, and the electrical resistance may thus not be provided for. Examples of laundry dryers exploiting a heat pump condenser are provided in JP2004135715, EP 1411163, EP 1634984.
Other known solutions exploit a water spray condenser for cooling the drying air. For example, EP 0552843 describes a washing and drying machine including, for the drying part, a steam condenser communicating with the inside of the washing container to receive the steam emanated by the washed laundry contained in the drum and with a nozzle for spraying cold water for the condensation of said steam, an aspirator associated with said condenser for the aspiration of the condensed steam formed in said condenser and for its conveyance to a drying area for the formation of dry hot air and a recirculation conduit of dry hot air inside said container. A water spray condenser is also described in GB2248920.
For some household appliance manufacturers, it might be interesting to exploit the already existing design of a washer for producing and offering to the customers a washer/dryer. The addition of those components and parts, that are necessary for the laundry drying function, should have as low as possible impact on the already existing design; in particular, the additional components should be housed within the already existing washer cabinet. This may be a cumbersome task, because of space constraints.